Engineering Tech Lead Node.js Architect

Role: Engineering Tech Lead Node.js Architect Location: Sheffield, UK Contract (3 days a week Onsite) Job Description Experience1015+ years of software development experience with at least 5+ years of hands-on expertise in Node.js and experience lead ing engineering teams and large-scale backend platforms.Job Summary:We are seeking a highly skilled Engineering Tech Lead Node.js to lead the design, development, and evolution of scalable, high-performance backend systems. The ideal candidate should possess deep technical expertise in the Node.js ecosystem, strong architectural and system design capabilities, and proven experience lead ing engineering teams through complex technical challenges.This role requires a hands-on lead er who can drive technical strategy, mentor engineers, establish engineering best practices, and architect distributed systems capable of handling enterprise-scale workloads.Key ResponsibilitiesLead the architecture, design, and development of mission-critical backend applications using Node.js.Design scalable, secure, and highly available distributed systems and microservices.Drive technical decision-making and define engineering standards across projects.Collaborate with Product Managers, Architects, DevOps, QA, and cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality solutions.Review code, enforce best practices, and ensure maintainability and performance of applications.Mentor and guide engineering teams through technical challenges and career development.Optimize application performance, scalability, reliability, and observability.Design APIs and integration patterns for internal and external systems.Establish CI/CD pipelines and promote DevSecOps practices.Lead technical discussions on architecture, system trade-offs, and technology adoption.Ensure applications meet security, compliance, and data privacy standards.Participate in production support, incident management, and root cause analysis for critical issues.?Required Technical SkillsNode.js ExpertiseStrong expertise in Node.js runtime internals and asynchronous programming.Deep understanding of:Event LooplibuvWorker ThreadsCluster moduleStreamsBuffersMemory managementGarbage collectionAdvanced knowledge of JavaScript (ES6+) and TypeScript.Experience with backend frameworks such as:Express.jsNestJSFastifyKoaArchitecture & System DesignStrong understanding of software architecture principles and design patterns.Experience designing:Microservices architectureEvent-driven systemsDomain-driven design (DDD)Hexagonal/Clean ArchitectureCQRSSaga patternAPI Gateway patternsExperience building systems with high throughput and low latency.Knowledge of scalability patterns including horizontal scaling, load balancing, and auto-scaling.API & IntegrationRESTful API designGraphQLgRPCWebSocketsOpenAPI/SwaggerAPI versioning strategiesThird-party system integrationsDatabasesExperience with both SQL and NoSQL databases:PostgreSQLMySQLMongoDBRedisElasticsearchStrong understanding of:Data modelingIndexingQuery optimizationTransactionsReplicationShardingMessaging & Distributed SystemsHands-on experience with messaging platforms such as:Apache KafkaRabbitMQAWS SQS/SNSNATSUnderstanding of:Event sourcingIdempotencyRetry strategiesDead-letter queuesEventual consistencyCloud & DevOpsExperience with cloud platforms:AWSAzureGoogle Cloud PlatformHands-on knowledge of:DockerKubernetesHelmTerraformCI/CD pipelinesInfrastructure as CodeObservability & PerformanceExperience implementing:Centralized loggingDistributed tracingMetrics collectionMonitoring dashboardsKnowledge of tools such as:PrometheusGrafanaOpenTelemetryELK StackAbility to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in Node.js applications.SecurityStrong understanding of:OAuth 2.0OpenID Connect (OIDC)JWT authenticationRBAC/ABACOWASP Top 10Secure API developmentSecrets managementEncryption best practices?Lead ership ExpectationsLead and mentor engineering teams.Conduct technical design reviews and code reviews.Define engineering standards and best practices.Drive architecture discussions and technology decisions.Collaborate effectively with stakeholders across business and technology functions.Foster a culture of quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.?Preferred QualificationsBachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Engineering , or a related field.Experience building large-scale enterprise or SaaS platforms.Familiarity with serverless architectures and cloud-native development.Exposure to AI/ML integrations or event streaming platforms is a plus.Contributions to open-source projects or active participation in the Node.js community are desirable.TPBN1_UKTJ